$100 million claim against Connecticut in school shooting is dropped

Reuters

NEW YORK - A $100 million legal claim filed against the state of Connecticut in the wake of the deadly Newtown elementary school shooting has been dropped, an attorney involved in the case said on Tuesday.

New Haven, Conn.-based attorney Irving Pinsky said he dropped the claim because he was evaluating new evidence, according to a report published online at CTPost.com.

Pinsky told Reuters he did not rule out further legal action.

"To be clear, we have reserved all our rights and waived none of our legal claims," he wrote in an email.

He did not provide any further details as to why he dropped the claim, filed last week on behalf of an unidentified 6-year-old survivor of the Newtown shooting at a primary school that left 20 children and six adults dead on Dec. 14.

The survivor, referred to as Jill Doe, "has sustained emotional and psychological trauma and injury, the nature and extent of which are yet to be determined," the claim said.

According to the claim, the unidentified child heard "cursing, screaming, and shooting" over the school intercom when the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Pinsky's claim said the state Board of Education, Department of Education and education commissioner failed to take appropriate steps to protect children from "foreseeable harm."